A Misunderstanding
by FoSizzle
Summary: When Kyoko, Ren, and Sho cross paths in a stairway, one word that is misunderstood can have a drastic effect. The outcomes are something that could never been expected for them. One-shot


_A/N: This is a story that I just thought of when I was reading over the manga again and thought that this would be a pretty funny twist. It's basically the scene in chapter 93-94 where Ren sees Kyoko and Sho talking in the stairway and goes to get Kyoko away from him. I love it! ^.^ Most of the scene is directly from the manga, by the way, so that's why it might seem so familiar, but it changes to my story soon enough. _

_Ren's POV, 3rd person_

"So about yesterday." That was Kyoko's voice that he heard, but who was she talking to? Ren stopped to listen on the stairs, not able to help being curious about what was going on. "Yesterday was really messed up, and I forgot to say something critical to you."

"So what is this critical thing?" Ren realized with a shock that this voice belonged to Sho Fuwa. Kyoko was probably talking about when Sho had saved her from the stalker that she had picked up from the group that had proclaimed Sho their enemy and had been terrorizing him ever since. Ren knew that Kyoko would probably be a bit grateful to Sho, but he never expected her to go to him to say it. After all, her negative feelings towards him usually covered up any other emotions that she felt, even the ones that Ren longed to be shown…

"When you saved me…" she continued, her voice growing angry for some reason. "It's not like I'm grateful to you or anything, but I think I should say a single word of thanks." Ren almost laughed at her way of approaching these things, but didn't want to give away his location. He was also quite shocked that she still was oblivious to what Sho might have been expecting when she apologized to him. Knowing him, he would probably be looking stunned at her attempt to give him thanks.

"What? That's not thanks! To give your thanks to someone, you should start with being grateful!" Now it seemed like Sho was angry, which infuriated Kyoko even more, and they started the thing that they seemed to like to do best with each other: argue. Even though Ren could see that Kyoko was back to her normal state, he was still saddened by the fact that Kyoko and Sho seemed to have moments like this, when they seemed to be the only people who mattered, more and more often. It seemed like Sho still had the greatest space in Kyoko's mind, and it was infuriating to think about how hard it would be to change that.

Suddenly, their voices stopped, and Ren was jolted out of his thoughts. The atmosphere that surrounded the scene was the same as it was usually: one that would be near impossible to penetrate. Even when Kyoko was mad at Sho, it just made him more important to her, and the thing she really needed to do was forget about him! As Kyoko started to yell again, Ren was shocked to hear a bit of hurt in her voice.

"Why did you do that? Even if you say he has no pride, why would you go so far as to hurt him?" He expected she was talking about her stalker again, and also wondered why Sho would think of doing something that dangerous that could harm his career. "You could have just left me alone! Saving me doesn't have any benefit to you!" Ren heard some sad emotions creep into her voice again and knew that she still was having a hard time dealing with the fact that Sho didn't think of her as valuable, and never did. Of course, Ren knew that he was beginning to think that she was valuable to him again, but Kyoko, with her obliviousness, had yet to pick it up.

"What would happen to me…wasn't on my mind." Ren froze again as he heard Sho's voice, beginning what would possibly unravel the final hopes of getting Kyoko away from him. "The only thing in my mind was your safety."

"W-why?" Kyoko's confusion was clear in her voice, but there was also a tone of disbelief. Why would Sho, who was supposed to be her enemy, be worried about her?

"To me, you are…" As Ren heard those close-to-fatal words, he immediately knew that if he didn't do something soon, all of the things that he was working up to with Kyoko would be destroyed. Almost without thought, he hurried down the stairs and into the scene which he knew he had to prevent.

"Oh? Mogami-san?" he said, as if he was just walking by, not knowing that anything was going on. As he walked into sight, both Sho and Kyoko turned around, shocked. Kyoko immediately got a look of fear on her face, as if she didn't want Ren to know about this at all. At first he wondered if Kyoko really did want to hear what Sho was about to say, but he knew that her whole world and way of thinking about things would be flipped upside down. _To me, you are my l… _"What are you doing here in a place like this?" he asked.

Kyoko still seemed to be at a loss for words, so Ren supplied her with an excuse to talk to her. "Are you ready yet? The morning assembly is in less than 30 minutes."

"Oh no! I haven't even eaten breakfast yet!" shouted Kyoko, looking panicked in the way that Ren always thought was adorable. She had things on her mind that could change her completely, but yet she still thought so much about what the people on set and Director Ogata would think about her.

"Then, shall we go together?" he said, smiling kindly at her but wincing at the thought of eating more food, especially since he was incredibly full already. He then looked at Sho as if he just noticed him and smiled with all of his natural charm. "Good morning, Fuwa-kun. I have a critical thing to tell you that I forgot to say yesterday," he said, quoting Kyoko a little bit in his own way.

"I've heard the details," he began, drawing Kyoko to him in a sort of side-embrace. He hoped that it set off the impression of possessiveness, that Kyoko was _his_. It worked, because Sho's expression turned to one of shock and he looked at Ren angrily. "I'm so grateful that you were there to save her. I get scared just thinking about what could have happened." Kyoko looked up at him with wide eyes, and at first he thought that she was going to say something to him quietly, but instead, she yelled again.

"I don't think you should give him a word of thanks!" Ren's cover that he was trying to create, to make Sho think that they were more than just friends, quickly disappeared and Sho was able to see that Kyoko was still as oblivious as always. As he smirked their way, Ren suddenly wasn't able to take it any longer and leaned his head near Kyoko's, whispering something into her ear while almost touching her skin with his lips.

"I think that Sho wants to be your…mentor, like I am." He spoke the first words louder than needed, but when he got to the part where he specified what she thought of him, he made sure that Sho would have trouble hearing it. He turned his gaze back up to Sho again and saw him widen his eyes.

"What?" shouted Kyoko, her face a mask of shock. "But why would I need him? I already have you!" When she turned back to back to Sho, she gave him an indignant face and told him, "Tsuruga-san is the only one who I need."

"Ky-Kyoko…" Sho stuttered, looking between the two of them. "Ren is…?" Ren grinned at Sho, knowing that his plan had succeeded.

He softly grabbed Kyoko's hand, and with a wave, he told Sho, "Sorry, we have to get going now." When they were walking away, Ren turned to Sho and grinned again, seeing his face contort into shock and pain.

_Sho's POV, 3rd person_

"Oh? Mogami-san?" Sho turned around sharply as he heard Ren come down the stairs and saw Kyoko do the same. "What are you doing in a place like this?" _Like it was a coincidence, _Sho thought bitterly. _He just couldn't stand the thought of me stealing Kyoko away from him. Like she'd ever go for someone like him. _

Ren told Kyoko that they needed to go soon, another desperate measure to get them apart, and turned towards Sho. "I've heard the details about last night, and I'm grateful that you were there to save her. I get scared just thinking about what could have happened." With that, he pulled Kyoko to his side, wrapping his arm around her back like he owned her. _Bastard! _Sho thought, narrowing his eyes after his first shocked expression. _She's not yours! She's mine, and she always has been! _But he could see the tenderness in Kyoko's gaze as she looked up to Ren, calling out his name slowly…

"I don't think you should give him a word of thanks!" She shouted angrily, pointing to Sho. Sho grinned in relief, pointing his smugness out to Ren. Kyoko's anger and obliviousness was all that he needed to see to confirm his prediction that she still hadn't gotten beyond hating him and ignoring most of the other people in her life. Even now, as Ren was holding onto her and almost begging her to look at him instead of Sho, she just filled more and more of her heart with hatred for Sho. That hatred was emotion, and it could be turned around easily if he confessed to her. She would be so confused that all of the thoughts towards him would be to his advantage. He was about to say something that would get Kyoko even angrier with him, but was shocked to see Ren lean down to whisper something in her ear.

"I think Sho wants to be…" He struggled to hear the last word, leaning forward without thinking about it. "Your lover." _That's what I was just going to say to her before Ren interrupted! _He thought, concentrating too much on what he was going to say to hear what was actually said, just as Ren had predicted. Sho wondered what Kyoko's reaction would be, and it was exactly as he predicted.

"What?" She was just as shocked as he thought she would be, and he was going to grin again until she said the next words. "But why would I need him? I already have you!" _What? But… I thought their relationship wasn't like that. It's not! _She turned to Sho and frowned. "Tsuruga-san is the only one I need."

"Ky-Kyoko." With Kyoko's confirmation, Sho felt a low throb of pain go through him. He had never expected Kyoko to _actually _fall in love. What happened to the little girl who had always followed him around and told him that he was the most important person in her world? To add insult to injury, Ren took Kyoko's hand gently, as if not to hurt her, and turned her around to leave Sho.

"Sorry, we have to get going now." They both walked away from him as he tried to wrap his head around the situation. The thought that Kyoko didn't want him anymore struck him again as Ren turned around to look at him, and he put his hand over his mouth, turning away from them. _Dammit, it wasn't supposed to go this way, _he thought, struggling his way towards the stairs and away from Kyoko.

_Kyoko's POV, 3rd person_

Ren stepped towards Kyoko, pulling her to him, and for one moment, her heart skipped. He held her against his side, comforting her in a way that only he could.

"I heard the details of last night, and I'm grateful that you were there to save her." _Don't be thankful to him! _Kyoko thought, shaking her head in her mind. _He doesn't deserve it! _"I get scared just thinking about what could have happened."

Shocked by Ren's moment of leaked-out emotions, she stared at him in wonder and a little part of her lit up in a kind of way that she hadn't felt in a while. "Tsuruga-san…" she said, gazing up at him. She was about to tell him that it was all right as long as he comforted her from now on, and that she would always think of him as her protector, but her old self flew back into her and she thought back to Sho. "I don't think you should give him a word of thanks!" Both men looked shocked at Kyoko's outbreak, but Sho seemed to find it funny. Ren grimaced for a second, then seemed to make a point of resolve and leaned down to Kyoko's ear.

Immediately she blushed a little inside, feeling Ren's lips at her ear, but she kept it in. "I think Sho wants to be your…protector, like I am." She looked at him, shocked. But why would Sho think that he could ever be better than Ren at protecting her? Ren was the one that was there for her, and the one that would always feel better no matter what situation she was in. She felt her heart lighten up a little bit and spoke in shock, "What? But why would I need him? I already have you!" She realized that she always had Ren, even when Sho had abandoned her. She knew that Ren would never leave her, and she felt a warm feeling inside her grow. "Tsuruga-san is the only one I need." She turned to Sho and glared at him, thinking about how it felt to be abandoned by him. At the same time, though, she felt herself giving up slightly on the feelings that connected the two, instead grasping onto Ren, her protector, more.

"Ky-Kyoko," Sho gasped out, staring at her. For once, she had the upper hand, and it felt good. After so much time spent trying to exact her revenge, though, the taste was not as sweet as she had imagined.

"Sorry, we have to go now," Ren said, grabbing her hand lightly. She blushed again, out of sight of the two men, and secretly liked the feeling of his hand against hers. And as she looked up as him as she walked behind him, she grinned softly, thinking about how Ren cared about her, if only as a mentor or a guardian.

As you can see, a misunderstanding can sometimes be a truly wonderful thing.

_A/N: Awww I love Ren and Sho, but I love Ren more, so he got to have the happy ending. :) I think it would have been really cute if something like this happened in the manga :D _


End file.
